Over UGX200b Moved Via PostBank’s Wendi Platform

Launched in November 2023 and licensed by the Bank of Uganda, Wendi is designed to bridge the gap for unbanked and underbanked citizens.

Wendi is designed to bridge the gap for unbanked and underbanked citizens.

"The platform offers features like group and individual savings, transfers, payments, deposits, and withdrawals," explains Mr. Ibrahim Kato, PostBank's Chief Retail Officer. "This fosters financial inclusion for Ugandans who may not have traditional bank accounts."

Launched two years ago, PDM aims to empower Ugandan households by delivering government and private sector initiatives directly to parishes, promoting wealth creation and job opportunities.

Mr Ibrahim Kato, PostBank’s Chief Retail Officer pulse uganda

"PDM needed a way to distribute funds nationwide," says Kato. "Wendi's user-friendly app and USSD code functionality (accessible even on basic Kabiriti or KaTorch phones) eliminates the need for branch visits and associated costs."

At their convenience over 200,000 PDM beneficiaries had been enrolled onto Wendi within less than two months and received more than UGX 200 billion.

“This speaks to the government’s aspirations of distributing funds securely and conveniently. With the Wendi wallet, one has full visibility, transparency, and traceability for all funds up to the last mile beneficiary,” says Kato.

He added that once the SACCO account is funded, SACCO leaders receive SMS alerts. Similarly, the beneficiaries get an alert when the PDM loan is disbursed to the beneficiaries’ wallets.

When it comes to convenience, Wendi eliminates the need to travel long distances to open bank accounts or withdraw funds. Authorization of transactions as well as access to funds by beneficiaries is enabled from a mobile phone.

With the robust cyber security controls, they made the system watertight when it comes to fraud. The Wendi clients are therefore assured that the bank has invested in a secure platform.

Wendi is designed to bridge the gap for unbanked and underbanked citizens. pulse uganda

“It went through rigorous security tests before deployment. The system has robust encryption and authentication technologies that ensure customer data privacy and protection throughout the customer journey right from onboarding to cash out,” said Kato.

Through Wendi, PostBank, one of the three government-owned financial institutions in Uganda, has served over 4,700 SACCOs and of these, 2,400 are PDM SACCOs. The bank currently has over 58 branches across the country, over 2000 agents, and has key strategic partnerships that allow it to serve clients beyond direct presence.

“On top of this, our partnership with MTN and Airtel who have over 250,000 agents across the country, enables us to go further. This brings our services even closer to the people.”

As a result of these strategic partnerships, over sh220b has gone through Wendi to clients across the value chain.

For one to access it, they can download the app on Google play store or Appstore, or dial *229#.